This is the fifth and final part of episode 2 at the Global Landscapes Forum in Bonn, Germany with John D. Liu. In this part we hear two conversations about the important but historically ignored voices from indigenous nations, including their long history of oppression by globalizing civilization, the distinct worldviews inherent in the global economy and indigenous cultures, and the importance of bridging these differences and working together to protect and restore the Earth.
John D. Liu is Ecosystem Ambassador for Commonland Foundation and Visiting Research Fellow at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also catalyzed the Ecosystem Restoration Camps movement. You can find his films and research papers at knaw.academia.edu/JohnDLiu
We will first hear John Liu speak with Leo van der Vlist, who works for the Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Embassy for the Earth, and is a member of the international Forest Stewardship Council. For over 25 years, Leo has been working with indigenous peoples to protect and restore their sovereignty, and for the last couple years has been working with large scale ecosystem restoration projects involving local communities.
Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples
After Leo, we’ll hear another profound conversation, with Marcos Terena, an indigenous elder from Brazil, along with his translator, Mercio Cerbaro, PhD researcher at the University of Surrey in the UK. Marcos has been working for decades to involve sovereign indigenous voices in the global conversation.
In 1988, he was integral to the inclusion of indigenous rights in the Brazilian Constitution. In 1992, more than 700 indigenous leaders worldwide elected him to speak to world leaders on their behalf at the U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the first time an indigenous person had addressed the United Nations.
He also founded the Union of Indigenous Nations, the first indigenous rights group in Brazil, and is the coordinator for the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity.
In this interview, he shares valuable observations, concerns, and wisdom about mankind’s relation to Mother Earth.
International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted September 2007
Michael DiGiorgio recorded the banjo-bird jams I’m using in the intro and ending. You can find his amazing nature art at https://www.mdigiorgio.com. Mike says that if you’d like to buy the album of his nature-banjo jams, you can find his email on his website and he can mail you a CD.